Champagne Lifestyle on a Lemonade Budget - 2021

liberty_lily

Meant to say, your front garden looks lovely,  Helen...I especially love your peonies 😊 Ours haven't opened yet, but are full of buds. However, the one I dug up from my late grandmother's garden before the house was sold has been moved so many times since 2008 I fear it will never get established properly 😪

weenancyinAmerica

Helen - I actually have considered fake plants but not sure if dog would eat them. I do have geraniums and herbs in the front yard already. One of our neighbors has actually painted plants on the walls of the house. If things don't improve, we will all to be creative.

helensbiggestfan

nancy.  Where do you live.  I have a soft spot for huskies. They are beautiful to look at and seem to be real characters.  Is yours argumentative. 😂🤣

having a lovely quiet champagne moment, sat in bed with my coffee. My handyman was here yesterday. He is in danger of becoming " a treasure".  Definitely a keeper.  Lol. Need to chase the EA today. I am soo excited, ready to launch. I've seen a couple of possibles on Right Move. Que sera. What will be.  

Rain forecast today. So will clean my cooker and tackle some paperwork.   So Rock and Roll. 

helensbiggestfan

candygirl said:

Wow I'm so excited for you  , downsizing is my dream, but I'd need to sort this place first  .
Just had a lovely champagne moment; Mum brought me an Indian takeaway round. It was sooo good x

Ah thanks, Hon. Tbh it's taken me a long time to get the house ready. I lost my mojo for a while, struggled with fibro and arthritis.  It's really thanks to my handyman that I've been able to finally push through. He really is worth his weight in gold.    

I've been watching some you tube videos about downsizing, getting lots of ideas and inspiration. It's definitely the way forward for me now.  Im not getting any younger.  Lol.  I want to free up my time and money for more fun and adventure.  

Time to tackle that bucket list.  Ha ha.  

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moment yesterday afternoon was securing tickets for myself and my 2 children to see Lenny Henry's debut play August In England at The Bush Theatre in May 2023. I got a companion ticket for free and a special deal on one of the other tickets, so they were really cost effective. This will kick of the start off my daughter's 31st birthday celebrations in 2023.   

I also treated myself to a ticket to see the play Favour on 13th July 2022 and for the play Elephant on the 26th October 2022 at The Bush Theatre. 

Wednesday2000

helensbiggestfan said:

having a lovely quiet champagne moment, sat in bed with my coffee. My handyman 

I have only just woken up and I read that as you were sitting in your bed with your handyman!

helensbiggestfan

Bless him. But he's really not my type. 😂

liberty_lily

Helen, are you planning to stay in the Derby area (I think that's where I recall you saying you were)? Or are you looking for a complete change of scene like Wednesday?

When we first *downsized* (I was 40, DS had just begun uni, we definitely didn't need a 3500 sq ft six bed house, lol!) we changed areas completely, but still chose a seaside location which was what we were used to. Then - when that didn't work out for a number of reasons, including being too far from our three remaining, ageing parents - we next bought in a rural village.

Both moves were quite a culture shock for me especially - DH had grown up in a fairly rural location so longed to return to somewhere similar - as I hadn't really realised how fundamentally different two seaside locations could actually be...plus the so called 'rural' village was actually noisier road-wise than our original city-by-the-sea home 🙄

Whilst I'm still not enamoured with our current home - and miss having the beach on our doorstep - I do think we picked a great location here. It's very rural without feeling too far from a lovely market town with boutique shops and nice places to eat/go for a drink (2 miles) and when the weather's good it does feel like being on holiday 😀 

weenancyinAmerica

Helen - I am in Southern California near Disneyland. Boy is the dog a handful. I have been chasing her around the house for the last thirty minutes trying to get her out into the backyard. Had to bring her in when the poolman is here. She got loose. Keeps hiding under one of my roommate's bed. The roommate she actually belongs to isn't up yet - or I would ask for his help. He works until 2:45 the last few nights. And he is a bear if he wakes up too early. The other roommates, including the one whose bed she keeps hiding under, had to go out to the dentist because the roommate whose she is under broke three teeth at once yesterday! 

helensbiggestfan

champagne moment. 

House now on RM. Two viewings booked already.  😁.   Looks promising. 🤞

phoebe. Yes I shall be staying in the area, near to family and friends.